Speech By 2M Indranee Rajah at The Singapore Institute Of Architects’ 60th Anniversary Dinner
Aug 21, 2023
It is a great pleasure to be here this evening, and thank you for inviting me to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Singapore Institute of Architects (SIA).
One of the great advantages – and privileges – of being an architect is that your work is tangible, visible and will endure beyond your lifetime. Your work leaves a legacy for others. It shapes our environment, captures moments in time, evokes memories and influences social behaviour. In some cases, it also helps to anchor our national identity.
Take for example the Old Parliament House. It is a historical landmark typical of 19th century British colonial architecture, which was gazetted as a National Monument in 1992. Today, it has been restored and transformed into an arts and heritage centre for Singaporeans to enjoy.
Jurong Town Hall is another example of Singapore’s modernity. Today, it remains a landmark in Jurong and symbolises the age of industrialisation back in the 1980s. Future generations can look back on this building, and it will speak to them about the times we lived in then.
Our architects have also shaped our nation building in our public housing landscape. One example is the iconic SkyOasis@Dawson, which has defined high-rise, high-density public housing and demonstrates new possibilities for public housing in Singapore.
How Architects have shaped the nation
In fact, you have helped us to design and build many more iconic and endearing homes for fellow Singaporeans. Together, we have developed a public housing programme that Singaporeans can be proud of – one that can keep homeownership affordable, maintain a good social mix, and keep the system fair. These are values that have guided us over the years and which we continue to hold dear, as the engagement of fellow Singaporeans through the Forward Singapore exercise has affirmed.
At the National Day Rally yesterday, PM touched on how our housing landscape has evolved over the years. Since the early 90s, HDB has used a simple framework of classifying estates as Mature and Non-Mature.
Mature Estates tend to be more centrally-located, better connected, and with more amenities. Queenstown, where SkyOasis@Dawson is located, is a good example. On the other hand, Non-Mature Estates, such as Woodlands and Punggol, tend to be less central and initially, at least, had fewer amenities than Mature Estates. As a result, they were of a lower price.
This classification has helped to guide HDB flat buyers for many years. Across Mature Estates and Non-Mature Estates, HDB has been able to offer flats in different areas for different budgets.
However, moving forward, we will have fewer and fewer large tracts of undeveloped land left on which to build new towns and estates. Estates that were originally classified as Non-Mature have also become much more developed, and the line between Mature and Non-Mature is blurring. Take for example, Punggol Town. It now has excellent connectivity and a full suite of amenities. In fact, it clinched the 2021 Urban Land Institute Global Awards for Excellence, which recognises the highest standards in land use, and excellence in innovation.
Increasingly, we will have to build more new HDB flats within or near to existing estates. These will often be in more central locations with a lot more amenities. They will tend to be more popular and cost more.
Even as we take the next step in our housing journey, we want to continue upholding the fundamental values that underpin our public housing. This is the impetus behind the changes that PM announced yesterday. To recap, PM announced that from the second half of 2024, HDB will adopt a new framework for new flats – Standard, Plus, and Prime.
You are already familiar with BTO flats launched by HDB – these are the flats that many of you have helped to design and build across Singapore. Today, they come with significant subsidies from HDB, to ensure affordability, and support Singaporeans’ aspirations to own their home. They also come with standard conditions, such as a five-year minimum occupation period, or MOP, which upholds the owner-occupation intent of public housing. These are what we will call Standard flats, and they will remain the majority of our supply of new flats.
Now, we are introducing a new category – Plus flats. These flats will be in choicer locations within a given region. One example of a likely candidate for a Plus project is Bayshore in Bedok. Given their attractive attributes and market values, HDB will provide more subsidies on top of that provided for Standard flats, so that these Plus flats remain affordable to a wider range of potential buyers. They will come with a longer MOP, which reinforces the owner-occupation intent, as well as more stringent resale conditions than Standard flats, to moderate prices for the first and subsequent buyers.
There will also be a subsidy recovery upon the sale of the flat by the first buyer, to recover a proportion of the resale price. This mitigates windfall gains and ensures fairness to flat buyers who did not receive these additional subsidies.
Finally, we have Prime flats, which are the Prime Location Public Housing flats, or the PLH flats, launched since 2021. These flats are in the choicest locations within Singapore, such as the city centre and the surrounding towns, as well as the Greater Southern Waterfront. They will come with the most subsidies, but correspondingly, with the most stringent conditions, such as a higher subsidy recovery rate compared to Plus flats, and BTO eligibility conditions for resale Prime buyers.
Standard, Plus and Prime will form the new framework for new public housing flats and we will implement this framework from the second half of 2024. We will then shift away from the current approach of Mature and Non-Mature Estates to this new framework, that better reflects differences in locational attributes of new flats. Nevertheless, flats across all categories will continue to be of the same quality, in terms of their design and finishes. This will allow us to offer a good mix of quality projects within and across regions, that cater to different needs and budgets.
We will also give singles greater access to flats. Currently they are only able to purchase new 2 Room Flexi Flats in Non-Mature Estates. Going forward, singles will be able to purchase new 2-Room Flexi flats across the island – whether Standard, Plus or Prime. For resale options, singles can continue to purchase Standard flats of any size, other than a 3-Gen flat, without an income ceiling. They may also purchase resale Plus flats of any size, with an income ceiling of $14,000, which is the same as that for families. At $14,000, 8 in 10 Singaporean households are eligible. For resale Prime flats, they may purchase a 2-room, with an income ceiling of $7,000 per the BTO eligibility conditions. Together, these moves will allow singles a wider range of options, both on the BTO and resale market.
There will be no change to the treatment of existing HDB flats – all 1.1 million of them. This means that flats which have already been sold or booked under the current framework will not be reclassified into Plus or Prime flats. For these flats, the current rules will apply, for instance, there is no income ceiling on resale buyers. Hence, for the 2 in 10 Singaporeans households whose incomes are above $14,000, they can continue to purchase any existing flats, or future Standard flats, on the resale market.
Last but not least, we are making our homes and neighbourhoods more senior-friendly, to help as many seniors age-in-place as we can. For homes, we will expand the suite of senior-friendly fittings that seniors can choose from, under the Enhancement for Active Seniors or EASE 2.0. We will also make it safer and more comfortable for seniors to move about their neighbourhoods. For example. seniors can look forward to more shelters, rest points, as well as therapeutic gardens and fitness trails to stay active. We will also launch more Community Care Apartments, which pair senior-friendly housing with care services that can be customised according to seniors’ care needs.
With these moves, we hope to keep our public housing programme vibrant and relevant in meeting the needs and aspirations of Singaporeans of all ages.
Strengthening our Architectural Identity though the Singapore Architecture Collection
This brings me to the Singapore Architecture Collection. What makes up our Singaporean architectural identity? It is not just found in the unique and innovative designs of our distinctive skyline. Our architectural identity is the collective and personal stories behind these spaces and places, that have developed over time and root us to Singapore as our home.
In order to strengthen our distinctively Singaporean architectural identity, we need to inspire present and future generations to discover our Singapore Stories as told through our buildings and enhance our shared understanding of our built heritage.
Hence, I am happy to share this evening that we are setting up the Singapore Architecture Collection. Building upon the rich architectural materials in the National Library and National Archives of Singapore, the Singapore Architecture Collection seeks to document, preserve and make available a wider repository of archival materials on Singapore’s growth as a city. These materials include architectural drawings, photographs, models and sketches of buildings and places in Singapore.
The Collection will be managed by the Urban Redevelopment Authority, National Library Board and National Heritage Board, in close partnership with the SIA, Singapore University of Technology and Design, and National University of Singapore.
It is heartening to see strong and positive support from the industry, with some of our pioneer architects and firms donating their early hand-drawn sketches of current landmarks and work-in-progress materials to the Collection, giving us a glimpse into the processes and influences that shaped their final works.
As we develop the collection, I would like to encourage our architects, planners, urban designers and built environment professionals to donate your own archival materials to grow the Singapore Architecture Collection. Your materials will inspire research, education and development of cutting-edge and novel architecture and urban solutions for future generations.
I invite you to share your insights and actively participate in upcoming public talks, programmes and showcases on the collection, which will offer valuable opportunities for Singaporeans to experience and discover our architectural stories first-hand.
Together, we can foster a greater understanding and appreciation of how our local architecture has positively impacted our lives and shaped our shared and lived experience in Singapore.
CORENET X – A Key to Sector Transformation
As you are aware, we are pushing ahead with efforts to transform the built environment sector. One of the key initiatives in this effort is the development of CORENET X, a one stop digital platform for the industry to make regulatory submissions for building works. This will allow architects and other professionals in the project team to coordinate their designs upfront and make a consolidated submission to all the relevant regulatory agencies at key approval milestones. The agencies will then provide a coordinated, and consolidated response to the project team. This should help the project team save time as they will not need to manage issues like conflicting directions from agencies.
We intend to launch CORENET X progressively, starting with a soft launch with partner firms in December 2023. We have been working with SIA on this and I am glad we have SIA’s and the architectural profession’s strong support for this endeavour.
In fact, SIA was the first industry partner to curate training courses on the new regulatory approval process under CORENET X. I hear that the course has been very well-received, with participation for the inaugural course maxed out, and the next two runs already fully booked. SIA’s support for this project has been invaluable and I look forward to your continued support to transform the Singapore built environment sector.
Designing the Singapore of the Future
Our built environment has the potential to affect our quality of life. Looking ahead, there are many opportunities for architects and designers to shape our built environment in meaningful ways, both big and small. I have earlier touched on how the Government is making major moves to better enable our seniors to age-in-place. A well-designed senior-friendly home and neighbourhood plays a big part in enabling our seniors to live more independently and comfortably.
Another example is URA’s recent Play@Punggol playground design competition saw more than 80 creative and whimsical submissions from local designers. I look forward to the winning designs being built next year.
Just as URA partnered SIA for the Long-Term Plan Review and developed conceptual ideas for the Paya Lebar Air Base, URA will continue to collaborate with SIA and the built environment professionals in the upcoming Draft Master Plan exercise, to translate your ideas into reality over the next 10 to 15 years. Together, we can indeed design the Singapore of the future.
In conclusion, our architectural landscape is a testament to Singapore’s harmonious blend of tradition and innovation. As we envision the Singapore of the future, let us continue to embrace sustainable practices, foster creativity, and prioritise inclusivity in our designs. By staying true to our heritage while embracing cutting-edge technologies, we can shape a city that not only captivates the eye but also embodies the values and aspirations of our people for generations to come.
Tonight, I am very happy to celebrate with you the award of SIA’s Gold Medal to two recipients – Ar. Raymond Woo and the late Ar. Kerry Hill. The award honours those who have contributed significantly to the architectural profession in Singapore. The award recipients tonight are wonderful examples of architects’ invaluable contributions to Singapore’s nation building.
Finally, I would like to thank SIA for your invaluable contributions over the past 60 years and invite all architects present today to think about what you would like to achieve in the next 60 years ahead. Tomorrow’s architectural excellence starts with you today and the Government remains committed to partnering you as we shape the Singapore of tomorrow together.
I wish you an enjoyable evening. Thank you.